Tag Archives: Ellen Gable author

When local author, Ellen Gable Hrkach, was informed this past July that she was being inducted into her high school’s hall of fame, she was “humbled, honoured and surprised.” The award is “in recognition of outstanding achievement” regarding her success as an author of fiction. The induction ceremony took place on Oct. 7 in Glassboro, N.J. A graduate of Triton High School, class of 1977, Hrkach was a member of the National Honor Society and graduated sixth in a class of over 450 students. She joins 40 other Triton alumni whhave been inducted over the years.

The author recently released her ninth book, Charlotte’s Honor, the second of three books in the Great War — Great Love series. The first in the series, Julia’s Gifts, was published last year. Both books are appropriate for age 12 and over.

Hrkach, who writes under her maiden name (Gable), says that she “enjoys creating stories, especially historical fiction.” In her new book, Charlotte’s Honor, 21-year-old Charlotte enlists as a medical volunteer during the Great War. She begins working in the death ward of the field hospital near Soissons, France, holding dying men’s hands and singing them into eternity.

Award-winning author Therese Heckenkamp highly recommended the novel, saying that it’s an “authentic story of compassion, self-sacrifice, and the true meaning of love.” Dr. Jean Egolf, wrote that “Charlotte’s Honor is a beautiful, tender and moving story set during World War One …” and that “it will not disappoint.”

The main female characters in the series are American and their love interests are Canadian. “I am American, and my husband, James, is Canadian. It’s been fun exploring that relationship with fictional characters.”

Originally from the Philadelphia-South Jersey area, Hrkach is now a dual citizen, having received her Canadian citizenship in 2014. The author began writing Christian fiction when her five sons were small children. The hobby eventually turned into a full-time career of writing, editing, book coaching, and ghostwriting.

She is currently working on the third novel of the Great War — Great Love series, Ella’s Promise, as well as two other novels entitled Where Angels Pass and A Faithful Heart.

Awards and Translations

In 2015, Hrkach’s fifth book, A Subtle Grace, was a finalist in the IAN Book Awards in both the romance and historical categories. In 2010, Hrkach’s second book, In Name Only, won the IPPY Gold Medal in Religious Fiction. In 2006, her first novel, Emily’s Hope, won an Honourable Mention in the IPPY awards.

All of her books are available on Amazon Kindle and in paperback. Her third book, Stealing Jenny, is available in three languages: Portuguese, Spanish, and Italian and will soon be translated into Lithuanian. Julia’s Gifts is available in Italian and will soon be available in Portuguese, Spanish, and French. Stealing Jenny is also available as an audiobook (narrated by Lisa Reichert). Since 2009, the author’s books have been collectively downloaded nearly a quarter of a million times on Kindle. To date, she has published nine original works and has contributed to numerous other books.

Upcoming Book Signings

The author will be signing and selling books at the following events during the month of November:

Charlotte’s Honor costs $15 for the print edition and $4.99 for the Kindle edition. It’s available online via Amazon and through the publisher’s website at www.fullquiverpublishing.com. More information can be found at the author’s website: www.ellengable.com.

“Children too are a gift from the Lord,
the fruit of the womb a reward
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior
are the children born of one’s youth.
Blessed are they whose quivers are full.
They will never be shamed
contending with foes at the gate.
Blessed is the man who has filled his desire from these things…” Psalm 127 3:5

So how many arrows make a full quiver?

The answer is that it depends on the quiver…and the size of the arrows.

We now have 14 books (most published by other authors) and four books coming in the next year.

Often, people assume that we are part of the “Quiverfull” Movement. At Wikipedia, Quiverfull is described as: “a movement among conservative evangelical Christian couples… it promotes procreation, and sees children as a blessing from God eschewing all forms of birth control, including natural family planning and sterilization. Adherents are known as “quiver full”, “full quiver”, “quiverfull-minded”, or simply “QF” Christians. Some refer to the Quiverfull position as Providentialism…”

An internet search of the words “Full Quiver” shows our website on the first page, along with a majority of websites and blogs devoted to the Quiverfull Movement.

I admire couples who follow this ideology, especially in this day and age when the majority of married couples are using artificial contraception or becoming sterilized.

However, we are not part of the Quiverfull Movement. Instead, we proudly use and teach Natural Family Planning to plan, space and limit births. When we are teaching NFP, we always encourage generosity and always stress there should be serious need to avoid pregnancy. We agree with the Church’s teachings on the Theology of the Body and are well-versed in the two encyclicals Humanae Vitae and Familiaris Consortio. Our publishing company publishes fiction and non-fiction that promotes the Church’s teachings on sex and marriage.

So why the name?

Years ago, I listened to a talk by Kimberly Hahn, in which she quoted the Scripture passage above and talked about the great gift of children and why generosity was so important. She later stated this concept in her book, Life-Giving Love: Embracing God’s Beautiful Design for Marriage: “We are in a spiritual battle, and our children are our arrows: How many arrows do you want in your quiver when you go into battle?”

This talk made a deep impression on me. So when we were forming our publishing company, after discussing different names, this is one that we felt God calling us to use: “Full Quiver Publishing.” It never dawned on us that we would be confused with the Quiverfull folks and that, occasionally, we would receive an email or a call from someone in the Quiverfull movement.

Back to the number: most quivers hold about 12 arrows. My husband and I have lost seven babies through miscarriage and are raising five sons: we thank God for our “full quiver.”

1. Catholic Conference 4 Moms
The Catholic Conference 4 Moms begins today and continues through Monday. For registration and more the information, click here. There are many great speakers on the schedule. I’ll be talking about Responsible Parenthood (or How I Came to Have Five Kids When the Doctors Told Us to Stop at Three). Registration is FREE.

2. Dynamic Women of Faith Conference
I’ll also be speaking at a one day women’s conference in Toronto next weekend (March 14). The topic of my talk will be “Coping With Difficult Losses.” I’ll be signing and selling books as well.

3. Discover or Rediscover Fasting
Lent is an ideal time to discover or rediscover fasting. Andy LaVallee’s book, From the Hub to the Heart, is not only an inspiring conversion story, but it is a great resource re: fasting!

7. In Name Only Also #1
While A Subtle Grace was at the #1 position of PAID Kindle Books, In Name Onlyspent most of the week at #1 in both Religious Drama AND Victorian Romance in FREE books!! (It is no longer FREE, alas…)

Thanks again to all those bloggers who have hosted me during my VBT for A Subtle Grace!

Friday means it’s time to connect with other Catholic bloggers for 7 Quick Takes Friday. This week, it’s at Camp Patton.

1. Amphibian Choir – Spring Has Arrived!
We know when spring has truly arrived: frogs start to croak in the swamp across the street. Each day, more frogs add to the amphibian choir. In fact, some days it’s so loud that the “choir” can be heard even with the windows closed. I remember when we first moved here 18 years ago, our oldest boys (then 8 and 5) could not sleep because the frogs were so noisy. Over the years, though, it’s become the official start of spring in our little corner of the woods. And, for me, the high-pitched sounds are music to my ears.

photo copyright Ellen Gable Hrkach

2. Fossil, Fossils, Fossils
One of the great advantages of living on bedrock is that there are numerous fossils. This is one of the fossils embedded in our bedrock driveway.

photo copyright Ellen Gable Hrkach

3. A Subtle Grace Update
This week, I researched Victoria guns and revolvers that would have been available in the late 1890’s. I don’t like guns, never have, but I found this research interesting. I watched a few videos on youtube and was amazed that many of the Victorian guns in existence today are still working.

4.Intersex Fish
Great article by Simcha Fisher called “So Long and Thanks for all the Intersex Fish,” about the impact that chemical contraception has on fish and an organic company who does not want to pay for their employees’ contraceptives.

5. Recipe – Banana Oat Cookies
I recently found this recipe on Pinterest. It is a no wheat, no sugar, no milk products, no eggs recipe. I made these the other night and they were right delicious out of the oven. They became rubbery as they cooled. But still very tasty. And…I do admit I added about two tsp of sugar to the mix because it needed a wee bit. Also, I baked them slightly longer than the recipe calls for.
Banana Oat Cookies:
Three mashed bananas (ripe)
1/3 cup applesauce (no added sugar)
2 cups oats (I used quick cooking)
1/4 cup almond milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
(I added two teaspoons of sugar)
Drop on ungreased cookie sheet and flatten. Bake in pre-heated oven 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

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I am an author, editor, self-publishing book coach, speaker, publisher, NFP teacher, book reviewer, Theology of the Body teacher and Marriage Preparation Instructor. However, the roles I love the most are being wife to my husband of 36 years, James, and mother to our five adult sons, ages 19-31.

Now available for Pre-Order!

Julia’s Gifts: Great War Great Love #1

Stealing Jenny Audio-Book

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